There are a wide variety of self-supporting child""s swings known in the art, the most common of which consist of a child support pivotally secured to a support structure. The pivoting motion is provided by either manual excitation, or by rotational input supplied by a wound spring or an electric motor. In the case of a child""s swing powered by an electric motor, the most common design is described by an output shaft of a rotary motor being torsionally and/or pivotally coupled to structure corresponding to the child support side of the child""s swing. That is, the child support is mechanically coupled to the output shaft of the motor, whether it be directly, through a gear train, linkage or a combination thereof. In order to remove the child support from the support structure or, alternatively, when assembling the swing, the known swings require the use of tools and/or removable fasteners (e.g., screws, bolts, pins) in order to secure the child support to support bearings and/or the output portion of the motor assembly.
Portable child swings, that is, child swings constructed with a view towards providing the user (e.g., a consumer) with a device that may be stowed and deployed are known in the art. However, the known portable child swings typically have limited features and/or are unnecessarily complicated when assembling or disassembling, as they often times require the use of removable fasteners and/or the removal and reattachment of components which can be easily lost. Furthermore, the known portable child swings are often times less than optimally designed for storage in a reduced-volume storage space.
In view of these and other drawbacks and/or disadvantages in the known child swings, there exists a need for providing a self-supporting child""s swing that is easily configured between a stowed and deployed configuration without the need for disassembly and/or re-assembly of components; a child""s swing that is durable, easy to manufacture and easy to use by a consumer; and a child""s swing that is compact and yet provides many of the features found in the more complicated and cumbersome child swings known in the art.
The needs identified above are met, and the shortcomings of prior art child swings are overcome by the child swing of the invention. In one aspect, there is provided a swing including a child support adapted for being rotated about an axis of rotation, a support frame including first and second upstanding frame portions for supporting the child support, a first coupling providing periodic motion output supplied by a motor drive assembly to the child support, the first coupling including a bearing member of the motor drive assembly and a mating member, wherein the child support is supported upon the first frame portion by engagement of a portion of a bearing member surface with a corresponding portion of a mating member surface, wherein when the child support first end is supported upon the first frame portion, the mating member is adapted for being rolled about the bearing member so as to displace the mating member along a displacement axis relative to the bearing member, the displacement axis being perpendicular to the rotation axis; and a second coupling for supporting the second end upon the second frame portion; wherein when the motor drive assembly produces periodic output at the bearing member, the child support rotates about the rotation axis by the rolling of the mating member about the bearing member. The bearing member is preferably mechanically decoupled from the mating member and relies on a frictional engagement with the bearing member to cause the swing to rotate about the rotation axis. A tacky material, e.g., rubber, may be used to facilitate a frictional contact between the mating and bearing surfaces. The bearing member may be circular in shape and the mating member may also describe a circle or an arc of a circle. Thus, the bearing and mating surfaces may describe contacting surfaces of circular-like or cylindrical-like bodies. The swing of this aspect of the invention may also include a releasable latch for releasably connecting the child support from the support structure.
In another aspect of invention, there is provided a self-supporting child""s swing configurable between a storage and use position. The self-supporting child""s swing includes a frame configurable between a folded position and an unfolded position, the support frame including a ground engaging portion, a first frame portion and a second frame portion, each of the frame portions being fixedly hinged to the ground engaging member, and a first and second housing, wherein the first and second frame portions are configurable in a first and second orientation relative to the ground-engaging member when the frame is in the unfolded and folded positions, respectively; and a child support having a child support surface and describing a child receiving end, the child support being configurable between a deployed and stowed position, the child support including an annular support member defining an outer perimeter of the child receiving end and first and second terminal ends of the child support, a first connector and a second connector disposed at the respective first and second ends, and a child receiving portion secured to the support member, the child receiving portion including retaining walls and the child support surface, wherein when the child support is in the deployed position, the support surface is disposed below the support member and the child support surface is contained within the retaining walls, and wherein when the child support is in the stowed position, the child support surface and the support member lie within approximately the same plane; wherein when the self-supporting child""s swing is in the use position, the child support is suspended from the first and second frame housings by the respective first and second connectors of the child support, the child support is in said deployed position, and the frame is in the folded position, and wherein when the self-supporting child""s swing is in the storage configuration, the child support is configured in the stowed position, the frame is in the folded position and the folded frame is contained substantially within the child receiving end.
In still another aspect of invention, there is provided a child""s swing including a child support supportable on a support frame; a first and second connecting arm for supporting the child support from the support frame, each of the connecting arms including a proximal end coupled to the child support and a distal end adapted for being connected to the support frame; a latch disposed on either the first connecting arm distal end or the support frame, the latch including a blocking piece movable between an engaged and disengaged position; wherein when the blocking piece is in the engaged position, the first connecting arm distal end forms an interference fit with a first mounting member of the frame, the interference fit preventing inadvertent removal of the distal end from the first mounting member when the child support rotates. The interference fit may be utilized so as to allow the distal end of the connecting arm to be removed while a motor drive for the swing is in operation, as well as providing a convenient connection device between the connecting arm and support frame. A self-locking latch may be used to enable or disable the interference fit, and the swing may include a second latch, identical to the first, which may also be disposed on either the second connecting arm distal end or the support frame.
In still another aspect of invention, there is provided a method for configuring a child""s swing between a use and storage position, including the steps of removing the first arm of a child support from a first end of a support frame, removing the second arm of the child support from the second end of the support frame, folding the frame, collapsing the child support, and placing the folded frame within the child support.
In still another aspect of invention, there is provided a child support suspendable from a support frame by first and second connecting arms that are pivotably coupled to the child support so as to enable the connecting arms to be configurable between a deployed position wherein the connecting arms extend upwardly from the child support and a stowed position wherein the connecting arms lie within the child support. In this embodiment, the connecting arms may also include first and second self-locking latches disposed at the distal ends of the connecting arms for securing the connecting arms to the support frame.
In another aspect of invention, there is provided a child support device which may be configured to a compact storage position to thereby provide a parent with a readily portable child support device. The support device of this aspect of invention may also be configured as a swing operated by an electric motor.
In a further aspect of invention there is an approach for assembly of a child""s swing which requires a simple engagement of self-locking latches disposed on connecting arms of the child support with end portions of a support frame. In this aspect of the invention, the latches securing the connecting arms to the frame ends may be easily disengaged by manually opening the latch with finger pressure. This aspect of the invention provides a child""s swing which does not require a user to secure fasteners, remove housings or engage in other labor-intensive activities when configuring the swing between a use and storage configuration.
In another aspect of invention, there is provided a swing driven by an electric motor which provides an enhanced parent-to-child interactive environment and, in particular, a swing which provides the parent with an ability to control swing motion according to the child""s needs. For example, the swing allows one to control the swing motion while the motor is energized and is providing periodic motion to an output end. The parent can either remove the child support from the output end of the motor drive, assist the motor with the swinging motion, or simply block swinging motion, all while the motor drive remains engaged. This aspect of the invention is preferably implemented by utilizing an interference fit between the output end of the motor drive assembly and the child support connecting arm. The electric motor may also be adjustable by providing a power control which allows a parent to adjust motor output if, e.g., a heavier child is placed in the swing, or if a greater swing arc or extended swing period is desirable.
Additional features and advantages of the invention will be set forth or be apparent from the description that follows. The features and advantages of the invention will be realized and attained by the structures and methods particularly pointed out in the written description and claims hereof as well as the appended drawings.
It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory and are intended to provide further explanation without limiting the scope of the invention as claimed.